Boots, more than any other shoe, give you purpose. You wear boots when its time to do work, real work. You wear boots to get to your office when the weather is shitty and the elements are working against you. You wear boots to crack a branch in half over a rock and throw it on the fire. You wear boots when there's a bit of uncertainty ahead and you want to be ready to face it head on. You wear boots to feel in control.

Nothing beats the original Clarks Desert Boot. Introduced in 1950 by the company's namesake, Nathan Clark, these quarter-length ankle boots simply work anywhere. Like the Sperry Top-Sider, I've worn countless pairs of this same damn shoe for many, many years. They served me well on Rocky Mountain camping trips (for aforementioned branch-cracking). They worked on cool nights visiting old friends in foggy San Francisco bars. They work today, in New York City—morning, noon, and night—on meandering Indian Summer walks that start on late afternoons and end on late nights. You come home and kick them off, toss them next to your bed, ready to put them back on and wander venture out for coffee a few hours later.

They're built for exploring, after all. The simple crepe-soled construction was inspired by a similar boot worn by British soldiers during World War II. You can scuff the beeswax leather version (above) and they will still look fine. The hue, itself, will fade and change over time ... and they will still look fine. If you buy multiple pairs over multiple years, each will probably seem a little different right out of the box, and yet, they will still look fine.

These boots are going on 65 years and, like jeans, they have yet to fall out of style. For that matter: They look great with jeans. They look great with pretty much anything. They will for years to come.